Please Leave A Light On For Me
by justtosaygoodbye
Summary: After leaving the hospital, Beth is taken in by a group that she doesn't know, but knows her.
1. Chapter 1

It was in her second week of aimless wandering that things started to look up.

Armed with a knife she was told belonged to her, a backpack with a change of clothes, a bit of food and water, and a gun she'd slipped into her bag from an abandoned office no one in the hospital seemed to want to enter, she'd decided to head out on her own. She'd been told that there were people she belonged with, a family of sorts, by the people at Grady. She'd been told that they'd thought she was dead and they'd left, and apparently the staff had initially thought the same.

She'd been told a lot of things, which was helpful considering she didn't remember much at all. Due to brain damage that no one would elaborate too much on for her, details seemed to elude her.

She quickly went over a list of what she'd known on her own: Her name was Beth, though a last name eluded her. She was in her late teens, maybe eighteen or nineteen. She knew she was from Georgia, whether it was her accent or instinct that told her that, she didn't know. She was aware of the state of disarray the world had fallen into, the dead coming back to life to drag others down with them. She knew she didn't belong at the hospital, that she had a home somewhere, she just had to find it.

She then reviewed what she'd been informed of by others: The group of people that had simply been referred to as 'your family' consisted of people older than her, including a former patient named Carol, a leader they called the Sheriff, a former worker called Noah, a man they kept calling the angry archer, and a few others who apparently weren't very notable due to a lack of description. She'd been on the receiving end of a stray bullet, an accident they'd told her, though everyone's reluctance to make eye contact with her while telling her this led her to believe it wasn't entirely true.

And finally she contemplated the things she didn't have confirmation of, but suspected or had simply found out by accident: She was a fighter, handy with a knife when one of the undead came at her in the woods. She could somehow look at the forest floor and tell herself a story based on what she saw - rabbit tracks, deer prints, the shambling of the undead, footprints from people that were inexplicably still alive. There were two people she was looking for; she could picture a small girl chasing her around what appeared to be a farm, her hair in pigtails, her voice slow and thick with the same accent Beth had. The other wasn't nearly as clear to her, she just knew she needed to find him for some reason.

With nothing but her questionable knowledge and the contents of her knapsack, Beth had left the hospital and taken to the woods where she'd instantly felt much more at home. She was as on edge as anyone would be in a world that had fallen apart at the seems as theirs had, but being outside (and armed) felt natural to her.

As she sat comfortably with her back against a tree, she slowly picked at a sort of trail mix she'd made for herself before abandoning the hospital. Due to the light crinkling of the plastic bag, she almost didn't notice the walker coming up on her left. She startled as the sound of leaves shuffling about alerted her to it's presence, scrambling to her feet and slinging her pack over her shoulder before running in the opposite direction.

Easily able to outrun the lone straggler, and thankful it hadn't brought friends, she stopped when the earth under her feet had been exchanged for smooth pavement. The only other thing on the empty stretch of road was an abandoned SUV. With a quick look around to make sure her initial assessment of being alone was correct, she walked over to the vehicle and grabbed the handle of the passenger door, slowly opening it to avoid making too much noise. Her efforts proved to be useless as a body slammed up against the door from the inside, pushing it open further as it attempted to untangle itself from the seatbelt it was caught in. She'd only turned her head for a second to look at her waist as she grabbed for the knife on her belt, but that was all the time it took for an arm to shoot out and grab a fistful of her hair, yanking her back toward the vehicle.

"Help!" Even as the word escaped her lips, she knew it was fruitless to call out, there was no one to assist her, and yet the sound of boots hitting pavement registered somewhere in her head as she struggled to pull her head away, her arms swinging blindly behind her at the rotting arms holding her. She'd assumed she'd gone mad until the unmistakable sounds of another human made her realise she wasn't fantasising. There'd been a sharp gasp followed by a grunt as the man seemed to make up his mind to help her. Perhaps he realised she was hopeless and he was taking pity. Whatever his motivation, Beth was grateful as she heard a voice instruct her to move "Left!" just before the unmistakable squelching sound of a knife sinking into the creature behind her.

The hold on her slackened enough that she was able to pull herself free, panting a bit as she looked up to see her saviour. The man was older than her. Much older, she thought, but who could be sure with the way people had to live now and the toll that lifestyle took on them? He looked like he belonged in a biker gang, the sleeves of his shirt torn from the rest of it and a leather vest resting over top of it, a tattoo peaking out from under the shirt to cover part of his arm. "Thanks," she said, looking up at his face, a smile on her own. He was quite handsome, now that she looked. "it's all this hair, I really should cut it off."

The man continued to stare at her, mouth hanging open in an almost comical way, but there was something in his eyes that told her there was nothing funny about the situation to him. Taking a step toward her, he lifted a hand as if he was going to touch her own, and though she contemplated moving back a bit to avoid it (this man looked very strong, he could hurt her if he wanted to), she stood her ground, gaze refusing to leave his. "Are you okay?"

He nodded, dropping his hand back down to his side as he did, seeming to think better of himself. With a small shake of his head, he cleared his throat, taking another step closer to her, apparently completely unaware of something called personal space. "Are you?" he asked, voice quiet, nearly a mumble.

"Thanks to you, yeah." she answered, smiling brightly up at him. They stayed that way a moment longer until she let out a small laugh, shaking her head to herself. "Where are my manners?" She held her hand out by way of greeting, "Hello, I'm Beth."


	2. Chapter 2

Hanging out in the middle of an abandoned street with a stranger wasn't usually Beth's idea of a good time, but as they stood frozen, her hand outstretched in the small space between them, a smile for her saviour stretched across her face, and him staring at her as if she were some ethereal creature he didn't think possibly existed, she found that the open space didn't bother her as much as it usually did. She took advantage of his shock, using the moment to study him, taking in the dark hair that hung damp with sweat into his eyes, a piercing blue that seemed to be the only soft part of him. Before she could investigate further however, a low groan came from the direction she'd just emerged from, alerting her to the presence of the walker she'd outrun in the woods.

The man snapped out of his daze, looking to the tree line before grabbing her hand and dragging her in the opposite direction with a grumbled "C'mon."

As they ran through the trees, a few things struck her as odd. Rather than wrapping a hand around her wrist or simply assuming she'd tag along on her own, the man had taken her hand, interlocking their fingers, his hand holding onto hers so tightly, his knuckles had gone white. She wasn't afraid of him the way she typically was with strangers, doing everything she could to avoid them, a small voice in the back of her mind telling her to trust him. When she looked ahead at him, she noticed that the thing bouncing lightly against his back as he ran was a crossbow, the words of the workers from Grady coming back to her, _the angry archer_.

After her hand had gone numb, she yanked her arm back toward herself to signal she wanted to stop. To his credit, he slowed to a walk, but refused to stop moving. "Where are we going?" she asked. It was simply a question, no fire behind the words. For some reason, she felt like she'd follow him anywhere, but she was curious all the same.

This brought the man to a halt, making him spin around to look at her again. The difference was, this time, rather than staring blankly at her, his eyes seemed to be focused on her forehead. She suddenly felt self conscious, tugging her hand free from his hold to run it trough her hair, pushing a bit into her face to hide the scar that resided there. "I had an accident," she told him, her voice sounding small and timid. "caught a stray bullet, I guess."

She was understandably surprised when he finally made a noise, though confusion followed when it registered as a scoff. "Accident?" he echoed, his eyebrows raised. He looked angry and she went to take a step back, but froze as his hand lifted to her face, tracing another scar she had on her cheek with featherlight fingers. "Suppose this was an accident too."

"Probably." She shrugged, unconsciously leaning into his hand. "It's a whole new world, I probably fell or got into a fight with a walker, I can't remember." Regardless of the fact that he didn't seem very talkative, she found herself wanting to tell him more about herself and she tucked her hair back behind her ear, her hand going up to trace her little circular scar. "I can't remember much of anything."

The man's stoicism remained as she informed him that she only knew her first name, that she was from Georgia, and that she was looking for the group of people she'd been with before her accident. He didn't look terribly surprised by this, but there was something akin to pain in his eyes as she pressed on. "I think I might have a family somewhere. Sometimes I dream of little things; a woman singing to me, a man reading bible verses, a man on a motorcycle, never anything concrete." Her gaze now aimed firmly at the ground, she shrugged lightly. "I don't know if they're real, but if they are, I'll find them."

When she looked back up at him, he was staring at her the way the people at the hospital did when she'd asked about her head wound before only giving her vague answers, so she was a little shocked when he answered her original question. "We're going back to the camp." He turned and began walking at a leisurely pace, waiting for her to follow as he continued. He then heaved out a sigh that she would've found to be dramatic had it not been for what followed. "We're the group you're looking for."

It made sense, in a strange way. If he was part of the family that she'd been told she had, it explained why she had implicitly trusted him. "You're the angry archer." she whispered softly, a bright smile overtaking her face. She let the warm feeling blooming in her chest overtake her for a moment before the niggling doubt swept in to crush it. She didn't know these people, who they were, how many were in their group, if they even wanted her back. If these people _did_ want her back, they'd be absolutely crushed when they realised that she had no memory of them. On the other hand, maybe being surrounded by the people that claimed her as one of their own would help to spark something inside her, knock down the wall surrounding her memories, and she'd be herself again.

She didn't realise that she'd stopped walking again until the man's voice broke into her thoughts, her eyes refocusing to see him walking back toward her. "Beth?"

"I don't want to know," she announced, surprising herself with how sure she sounded. He looked confused and she elaborated, digging her fingers into the end of her sleeves, tugging her sweater down over her hands. "I want to remember on my own, if I can." She wasn't entirely sure if it was for the best, but the idea of being told who they all were, who she was, sounded torturous. Having to live up to everyone's expectations would be terribly difficult if they were all thrust upon her at once, a blank canvas being forced to absorb too much only to become a mess. She much preferred the idea of letting it all come to her on her own. If it didn't work out, she could always change her mind later.

The man took a long while to let her words sink in before he nodded jerkily, turning away from her once more to lead the way. They only walked for another twenty minutes or so before he softly set his hand in the crook of her elbow to bring her to a halt. "I'll go on ahead, let them know what's going on." he said, watching her face carefully. "You gonna be alright?"

Reaching behind her with one hand, she grabbed the gun she'd taken from where she'd kept it tucked into the waistband of her jeans, nodding as she produced it. "I can take care of myself."


	3. Chapter 3

Leaving Beth alone after having just found her wasn't exactly something Daryl wanted to do, but debriefing the group before bringing her back seemed like a good idea. If he'd just drug her along behind him the rest of the way, she'd instantly be bombarded by a dozen people shouting, crying, and a barrage of questions she had no answer to.

When he reached the edge of the clearing they'd set up as a camp, close enough to hear the others but unable to see them just yet, he decided that maybe taking a moment for himself would be good. He needed to collect his thoughts. He'd managed to remain composed in front of Beth, which he counted as a victory. She was the one person he should've been able to speak his mind around, never judging him, just listening and willing to lend comfort. Without her, he was on his own.

While he absolutely dreaded being the one to break the news to everyone that she didn't know who they were, he couldn't help but let a genuine smile cross his face. How could he not, on some level, be elated? She was alive. _Beth was alive._ If she was confident enough that her memory would return on it's own, he had no doubt that it'd happen. If nothing else, Beth was strong.

He furiously rubbed the heel of his palm against his face, making sure none of the tears he'd been holding back had managed to escape. As he approached their makeshift home, he cleared his throat, drawing Rick's attention. "Something wrong?" he asked, his head tilting to the side as he watched Daryl pace.

"I got news," Stopping in front of Rick, he looked him in the eyes, trying to convey the importance of what he had to say. "and it's big." He'd never been big on words and Rick was usually good about deciphering his facial expressions and mannerisms. Currently he was grateful for this ability as he wasn't entirely sure that he trusted his voice at the moment.

Rick seemed to understand, rising from his seat on a small pile of wood they'd gathered for a fire. "Guys, listen up, Daryl's got something to say."

The group set down knives they were sharpening, books they were reading, water bottles they were drinking from, and, in Tyreese's case, the bottle he'd been feeding to Judith. Abandoning whatever had been occupying them, they came to stand in a rough looking circle around the fire pit they'd made, giving Daryl their undivided attention. He stood still as they all watched him for a moment before walking over to place himself between Rick and Maggie. "I found someone while I was out," he began, his voice wavering slightly. "and I need you all to be calm so I can explain."

Everyone looked confused, and rightly so considering how odd that must sound, but a few nodded their assent while other muttered sounds that told him to continue. He took a deep breath, trying to remind himself that no matter what complications were involved, this was good news. He looked over at Maggie and in a move he'd never pull with her otherwise, he reached over and took her hand in his, turning to face her slightly so he could catch her in case she fainted or whatever women did when they got shocking news. "I found Beth."

The reactions of the group were not what he expected at all. Maggie squeezed his hand, closing her eyes to keep her tears at bay. Since losing her, any mention of her sister had either sent Maggie into hysterics or a nearly catatonic state where she just stared blankly into space for prolonged periods of time, but this was different and until he looked around the fire at the others, he didn't realise it was pity. Carol had the same face on that she always did when he mentioned Beth - something they'd done together, things he knew she'd appreciate that none of the rest of them did, the one time she caught him crying while on watch and he tried to pass it off as dirt in his eyes - it was a look of sympathy, but not belief.

He didn't understand entirely until Rick placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and spoke just above a whisper, "You know, after Lori died, I saw her all the time." and suddenly the looks on everyone's faces made sense. They thought he'd gone mad.

Yanking his hand violently from Maggie's, the steel in his voice came back full force. "Jesus Christ!" And just like that, he realised that approaching this carefully to spare their feelings had been a mistake. "I'm not crazy, Beth's alive." As he looked around at the group, he saw a few of them dare to believe him, particularly the smile that began to bloom on Carl's face, and was reminded quickly of the downside.

Folding his arms tightly across his chest, he lowered his voice back down to it's natural volume as he plowed on, turning to Rick this time. Maybe if he held eye contact, he'd see the truth. "She's got brain damage," he explained, doing his best to keep his expression neutral. "can't remember much more than her name."

All of them were silent for a while, milling around the general area as a way to distract themselves. He stood stock still, keeping his eyes trained on Rick as the man ran his hands over his hair, pushing it out of his face. "Alright." he finally said, nodding to Daryl a few times before seemingly making up his mind. "Alright, what do we do?"

While the man was back at his camp explaining the situation to his people, Beth let her mind wander. He knew her and apparently liked her well enough to want to bring her back with him. It was comforting to think that she must not be a bad person if her group wanted her back. These people were her friends. Maybe she had a boyfriend, she thought, mind wandering to a half remembered dream of a featureless man on a motorcycle. Even more exciting was the thought that maybe she had a family, actual blood relatives within walking distance of where she was standing. Perhaps she had a mother and father waiting to envelop her in their arms and keep her safe for the rest of their lives, loving her unconditionally and doing whatever they could at this point to celebrate Christmases and birthdays together, maybe finding an abandoned house to call home, holding hands across a dinner table to say grace every night before family meals.

Her fantasising was cut short as the man came back for her, stopping in front of her and letting out an aggravated sigh. "You ready?"

She couldn't help but notice that despite his naturally surly demeanour, he looked annoyed, and all the fantasies she'd had collapsed in on themselves. Maybe these people didn't want her around after all, maybe they'd left her behind on purpose. "Did everything go okay?" she asked, nervously.

A humourless laugh erupted from him as she watched him card a hand through his hair. "Thought I was crazy at first." he told her as he began to lead the way. "Think some of them still think it."

Making her assumption based on what few clues she had and what she'd been told at the hospital, she sped up a bit to close the gap between them, interlocking their fingers again. "They think I'm dead, don't they?"

His eyes bore into hers and it took everything in her not to look away as he answered her, his voice the gentlest she'd heard it yet. "We all thought you were dead."

She couldn't keep her voice from cracking with nerves as she lazily lifted both hands, shaking them slightly, "Surprise."


	4. Chapter 4

**Happy Christmas, if that's your thing.**

The sun was sinking low on the horizon as Beth and her new friend stood hand in hand on the edge of the forest. They silently watched about fourteen or so people wandering around chatting with each other, a few seated as they went about whatever tasks they were focusing on. From where they were, she could see a pretty dark skinned woman holding a baby on her hip, gently swaying on the spot as she spoke with a teenage boy, and something in her longed to cradle the child.

The archer gave her hand a squeeze, but remained quiet as they moved forward slowly, Beth looking around at everyone as they approached. For people who'd been briefed that their friend had come back from the dead, these people certainly seemed disinterested, she thought to herself. That was, until a man with a scraggly beard and kind eyes spotted them when they stopped again just on the edge of the camp, his eyes growing wide as he looked between Beth and her friend. For lack of any better ideas, she smiled warily at him, bringing her free hand up to wave feebly.

"My god." she heard him mumble, setting down the pieces of a pistol he'd been cleaning. As if sensing the distress of the older man, the teenage boy spun around to look at him, following his gaze over to the newcomers, a wide smile overtaking his face as he too spotted them. "Beth!"

Just like that, heads were turning, smiles were blooming, and she felt stupid for ever thinking this man was dragging her to a group of people that wouldn't want to see her. With a light tug on her hand, he was leading her to the centre of the camp, into the fray.

She approached the man with the beard first, having found his reaction to her intriguing. He seemed hesitant, standing up straight and turning to face her, his arms twitching at his sides like he wanted to reach out but wasn't sure if it was a good idea. After a beat, the idea seemed to have won out and he slowly raised his arms, closing the distance between them to give her a hug. "We thought..." His voice trailed off as he tucked her safely into his side, one arm still around her shoulders.

"That I was dead." She finished kindly to save him the trouble. "So I heard." To the credit of the group, they were scattered around her doing their best to wait their turns, but she couldn't help but notice a pretty brunette woman, her hand clingy desperately to the man beside her, mouthing her name over and over.

Disentangling herself from the scraggly bearded man, she looked to the woman and then the archer. He gave her a small nod of encouragement and that was all it took for her to make up her mind. She approached her slowly to give herself time to study the woman. Her brown hair hung to just below her collarbone, slightly damp with sweat and full of dirt, her eyes were rimmed red from crying but she could tell they were a brilliant green. Despite the fact that, much like everyone else, she hadn't bathed in a while and her clothes were tattered beyond repair, Beth couldn't help but think that she was one of the most beautiful women she'd ever seen.

The two stepped away from one another, the man smiling kindly down at her, but not saying anything. The woman, however, seemed incapable of stopping herself as she launched at Beth, wrapping her arms tightly around her neck, having to bend slightly to manage it. Her arms hanging uselessly at her sides, pinned into place by the hug, she looked to the man for help, but he simply shrugged at her as if to tell her she was on her own. The woman seemed to be alternating between sobbing and laughing and Beth wasn't entirely sure how to handle her, so she settled on the standard greeting. "Hello."

At the sound of her voice, she could feel the woman tense up, and after another short burst of crying, she slowly peeled herself away, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as she muttered a soft apology before moving to stand beside the man again. He didn't seem nearly as flustered as his female counterpart and while opening his arms to comfort the crying woman, he smiled brightly over her shaking shoulder. "It's nice to have you home, Beth."

"It's nice to be home." she answered with a small shrug. Was it nice to be here? Was this home? As she looked around at the other smiling faces, settling on her friend from the woods, the angry archer, she decided that yes, maybe this was home. Maybe these people could be a family for her again. If nothing else, she'd have a large group of friends to call her own.

As she tried to make her way back to her starting point between the archer and the bearded man, she found her path blocked by the woman she'd spotted from the edge of the woods. She smiled at Beth, softening her edgy look a bit. It took her a moment to notice the small child she still held in her arms, the little girl stretching one arm out toward her as the other pulled lightly at the woman's dreadlocks. She took a moment to worry at her bottom lip before making up her mind and scooping the child up to hold her against her chest. Before departing, the woman gingerly placed a hand on Beth's shoulder as if it was all that needed to be done as a hello. Maybe it was, something about the gesture was terribly comforting.

The little girl made small, happy noises after being transferred to Beth's arms and she found herself exaggerating her walk on the way back to where she'd been headed, her hips swaying more than normal to rock the child. Something about holding her felt natural and she took a brief moment to ponder the origin of the little one in her arms. Maybe she was hers, maybe they belonged together. She was positive that she hadn't given birth to the child, though how she knew, she wasn't sure, but she could tell from the pull she felt that she'd been a prominent caregiver for her.

Settling down on a withered log beside the archer, she looked up at him, nodding her head toward the child, "She's beautiful." As she ran a hand softly over the little girl's hair, she was suddenly struck with a thought, a reason why she was so drawn to her. "She's not yours, is she?" It'd make sense. For some reason she trusted this man without an inch of doubt, of course she'd want to take care of his child for him.

His head turned to hers so quickly she was concerned he'd hurt himself. "No." he answered, voice gruff and defensive, though she couldn't tell why.

"She's mine." the bearded man answered from her other side. As Beth turned to look at him, she noticed he was pointing toward the woman who'd handed her the child, she was talking to a teenage boy in a large, brown hat on the edge of the camp, breaking what appeared to be a bar of chocolate in half while they each held an end. "They both are."

She analysed the boy, able to see the similarities now that it'd been brought to her attention. There were enough of his features in the boy's face that she could tell they were related, but enough differences that she was sure he took after his mother more. For fear of upsetting him, she didn't dare ask where she was, she knew everyone had lost someone at this point. She noticed the hat the boy had on and gasped softly as she made the connection. "You're the sheriff, aren't you?"

He turned to face her, eyes squinted in concentration. "You remember?"

She froze under the weight of his gaze for a moment before she found the strength to shake her head, "No." She could hear the archer heave a sigh behind her as she continued. "They told me about you, sort of."

"They?"

"When I woke up, the people at the hospital wouldn't tell me much." She was dimly aware of the little girl grabbing fistfuls of her long, blonde hair to lightly tug at, making a mental note to start tying it up into a ponytail. "They told me that I'd accidentally been shot," There was that grumbling sigh from the archer again. "and they said I had a family. Apparently there was someone who'd worked there, a woman who'd been a patient, the sheriff, and the angry archer."

Despite the angry face he'd been making since she mentioned her accident, the sheriff's lips curved up into a small smile at the final descriptor.

She took the hand that wasn't wrapped around the child and brought it to her forehead to rub lightly at the small scar there. "One of the wards told me I'd been furious at some point during my stay," She gave a small shake of her head to indicate that she didn't know what he'd been talking about. "said I kept yelling about the man I'd been with before, that I needed to get back to him, so he decided to describe you all the best he could for me."

"So that's why you left?" He asked, reaching over to place a finger in his child's outstretched hand.

Nodding solemnly, she did her best to muster up a small smile for him. "I couldn't stand the thought that I had a family somewhere that might be missing me."

Pulling his hand free from the little girl in her lap, he moved it to cover one of Beth's. "I promise you, we did."


	5. Chapter 5

Sitting around the fire, she glanced at the faces surrounding her, illuminated softly by the flames. She thought about giving everyone temporary names, something to call them in her head until their real names either came to her or they properly introduced themselves. Then again, maybe it wasn't a good idea. What if she decided to call the teenage boy Bret, but his name turned out to be Randy or something? If she named him on her own, it'd stick in her head and she'd only offend him later by calling him Bret.

It was better to stick to descriptions for now - the teenage boy, the Sheriff, the pretty brunette, pretty brunette's husband, the woman with the sword, the angry archer, the brother and sister, the military man, the military woman, the mullet, the other pretty brunette who she decided to call the chatty one, the preacher, the baby, the short-haired motherly woman, and, judging from the description they'd given her at Grady, Noah.

Deciding to be the one to break the silence they'd fallen into, she addressed the circle of people at large, made up of everyone but the Sheriff and the angry archer, both of whom had wandered off toward the tree line for a chat under the pretence of keeping watch. "I know we all agreed I should remember things on my own, but I have some questions." Her voice had begun soft, but she found strength as she went on, volume rising as her confidence did. "Nothing harmful, just some general things."

There was a moment of quiet before the woman with the sword spoke. "You can ask anything you want." she said kindly, betraying her tough exterior with an encouraging smile and a gentle hand on Beth's elbow.

She understood that if she asked anything they didn't think they should answer, they wouldn't, and she raised her head back up to get a good look at everyone. "What's my name?" she asked, deciding to start with the easy things. "I know my first name's Beth, but that's it."

Again, it was the woman with the sword who answered her. "Greene... with an E at the end, I think." and when Beth looked away from her to the rest of the group, she saw the majority of them nodding in confirmation.

"Beth Greene." she whispered to herself, the sound of it coming from her mouth so natural that it seemed silly she hadn't known it until now. She smiled to herself before addressing the group again, this time with an unsure statement. "I'm twenty?"

The pretty brunette had a small, amused smirk on her face as she corrected her. "Soon. You're still nineteen." Her voice had come out in a rasp, as if her throat was raw and suddenly Beth couldn't look away from her. She didn't drop her eyes until halfway through her next inquiry.

"The people where I was," she began, nervously raking her fingers through her hair. "they kept referring to you guys as my family, and I was just wondering if any of you were actually related to me." The answer to this one had her terrified for two reasons, either she didn't have blood relatives and she was alone in the world or one or more of these people were related to her and she was hurting them by not remembering them.

The group seemed to be communicating without speaking, all looking at each other and using subtle head motions to convey what they were thinking. Part of her envied them, another part feeling like there was someone out there she could do that with. No, used to be able to do that with. The elected speaker seemed to have been chosen specifically because they most likely weren't related. The pretty brunette's husband, a young Asian man, gave her a sort of sad smile as he absentmindedly ran his fingers along a silver chain that hung from his pocket. "You've got a sibling."

As she stared at him, head tilted slightly to the side, trying to find clues in his face, she spotted the two missing members of the group returning to their little circle. The Sheriff clapped the angry archer on the shoulder, a sympathetic frown on his face. "What're y'all doing?" the archer grumbled as he skirted the edge of the circle until he reached where she was sitting.

The woman with the sword reached out again, this time her hand patting Beth's knee. "Answering some questions."

He huffed slightly, sitting down beside her, making sure there was some space between them and refusing to look at her. "Anything interesting?"

"Oh yeah," she mumbled sardonically, digging the toe of her boot into the dirt to avoid the stares she was getting. "I've learned that my last name's Greene, I'm nineteen, and I'm related to one of you. I'm all set."

Despite her clear displeasure at her lack of information, he turned his head slightly to glance at her. "You know who it is?" His tone was hopeful and while she was pleased by his interest, she hated to disappoint him.

"I know it's not you." she shrugged. With his features schooled into a blank calm and the firelight illuminating half of his face, she suddenly imagined him standing in front of a building being engulfed by flames, his middle finger thrust out in front of him as he watched it burn. Regardless of the fact that he could very well pass as an arsonist, the image made no sense to her, and she shook her head slightly in an attempt to rid herself of it, but for some reason, words were clawing their way out of her throat without her consent. "We should burn it down."

The man's eyes narrowed and whether it was a glare or confusion, she wasn't sure. "What?" he asked, voice dangerously low.

"Nothing." she mumbled. Her fingertips lightly tracing the soft circle of new flesh on her forehead, a small scar, but a big reminder that she did, in fact, have a life before. She just wished she could remember it.

Eyes raised again to take in the faces around her, she stopped on the chatty one, she looked young enough to have a sister Beth's age. "Is it you?" she asked, fully aware that she was grasping at straws at this point.

"Me?" She asked, a hand going to her chest to indicate herself. "No, I'm just Tara."

At the sounds of indignation from the others, who all seemed to agree with Beth that it was for the best that she try to remember what she could on her own, she held her hands in front of her defensively. "Let's not forget, Beth doesn't know me." Another round of grumbling made her reword her statement. "She didn't know me."

"We've never met?" She asked, Tara nodding in response. It was certainly a comforting thought that there'd be no pressure to try to remember intricate details of a relationship with this woman considering they didn't have one.

"I'm just a friend of your friends." Tara seemed to realise that, to Beth, this was a good thing. She turned quickly, scanning the others for the faces she was looking for, pointing at each one as she introduced them. "That's Abraham," At the sound of his name, the military man lifted his hand in a small wave. "Rosita," was the military woman, pretty but tough looking. "and Eugene." This was the man with the eccentric looking haircut that seemed to keep to himself. "I think that's it on the stranger front."

"Well it's nice to meet you all." she announced, her smile bright. Considering she was practically a blank slate, having people meet her at the same time she was meeting them was a new thing, but she quickly decided she liked it.

The group sat in silence for a long while, breaking off into smaller pairings before leaving the warmth of the fire to climb into tents or leaning against trees to nap. When they'd dwindled down to about six, she finally spoke, choosing to confide in the archer. "I think they're wrong." she announced, voice just above a whisper. "I think I've got two siblings, a brother and a sister."

Whether she was wrong or right, he gave no indication, only a non-committal grunt before asking "What makes you say that?"

Only feeling more uncertain without his confirmation, she shrugged a bit before explaining. "I have dreams about them. We're still small, but they're chasing me through a big, old house." She shook her head, turning away from him again to look into the fire. "Maybe they're cousins or friends of the family, or something."

"I had a brother," he began, and whether he was avoiding answering her or just wanted her to know, she wasn't sure, but she listened intently nonetheless. "y'all didn't get along."

"Why?" Maybe she'd been an entirely different person when he'd known her before. She couldn't imagine just blindly hating anyone, the only way it was possible was if his brother had been a monster.

His arms out behind him, he leaned back placing his weight on his hands in the dirt, staring up at the sky as he smirked slightly. "He was an ass," and, for a moment, she thought that would be all there was to it, but he tilted his head a bit to catch her eye as he elaborated. "referred to you as 'jailbait' and claimed you tried to shoot him once."

Her jaw dropped, eyes gone wide, before she realised he had to be joking. Or maybe she'd been the monster. "I tried to shoot your brother?"

"Nah," He chuckled, an actual laugh that she filed away into her memory to keep in case it never happened again. "you fired off a shot into the ceiling to stop a pretty vicious fight. He just happened to be the one who started it."

That sounded more like her, who she thought she was, who she'd like to be. Since she'd set foot in the camp though, she'd seen nothing but smiling faces. "Where is he?" Her question was met with silence and it was all the answer she needed.

Just as the archer's brother had died, maybe the reason she thought she had two siblings but had only been told of one, she realised, was because not all of the Greenes had made it.


	6. Chapter 6

_Her long, blonde hair was flying around her, writing stories in the wind, her arms wrapped around the man in front of her, cheek resting comfortably against his leather clad back as they sped down a long dirt path on a motorbike._

_She wasn't sure she'd ever felt more content then she did in this moment. A soft melody erupted from somewhere deep within her chest, a melancholy tune despite the happy, fluttering feeling she had as she tightened her hold. Something she'd heard as a child, a small voice in the back of heard head saying it was a favourite of her fathers._

_The farm house was enormous, clearly capable of housing the amount of people who poured out of it to greet them as they came to a stop. They were all there, her friends and family, faces she felt like she hadn't seen in years. The small crowd parted silently to let a woman with brilliant green eyes make her way to the front._

_"Where've you been?" The woman asked, shaking her head disapprovingly at the two of them. The sun was only just setting, they couldn't have been gone all the long. She firmly placed a rifle into her waiting hands, locking eyes with her. "We've all got jobs to do."_

_Suddenly an alarm began to blare and as she looked around in confusion, she realised the house had bars on the windows. The kindly old man who'd lead them all outside was lying on the ground, a pool of blood spreading out slowly from underneath his body._

_She watched helplessly as a man with an eye patch decimated the house, moving about with a lithe grace to cut people down through a swarm of reanimated corpses as if they didn't even see him. The screams of her comrades mingled with the alarms until it became a deafening cacophony. Her mouth opened into a scream, but the sound of her own voice was drowned out._

_A single voice was audible above the din, a forced calm as he tried to convince her. "We gotta go, Beth." The man with the motorbike had wrapped his arms around her waist, trying to drag her away as she attempted to crawl to the fallen man. "We gotta go."_

_Through her tears, she could see the woman fighting her way through the undead to get to her as she she was pulled away, a scream_ _clawing it's way up from her throat._

"Maggie!"

She shot up from the ground, the tattered blanket she'd been covered with falling away, a sheen of sweat coating her body. Her panicked panting gave way to a small gasp as the door to the tent she'd been given was flung open to reveal the archer looking equally panicked. "What's wrong?"

She took a moment to let her breathing even out, her mouth moving from a concerned look to a wide smile as she finally looked up at him, eyes bright. "Maggie."

He looked a bit startled by her outburst, but she ignored it, pushing past him to get outside. "Thank you for coming to check on me." she added as an aside before moving away toward the other tents.

She couldn't curb her excitement as much as she tried, aware she'd be disturbing more than a few people who we're trying to sleep. "Maggie!" she shouted, shaking the tent closest to her. The response was a grumbling male voice with some less than nice things to say and she moved on to the next, reaching out to shake it as well when a hand around her wrist stopped her.

The archer's face was a war of emotions, happiness mingled with sorrow, and she opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong when he spoke. "She's in the red one." Her wrist slipped from his loose grip and she lightly squeezed his hand in thanks before running off to the proper tent.

Hands shaking with excitement, she tried to grab at the zipper to open the door, but couldn't keep a hold of it. "Wake up!" Her voice was an urgent whisper, a great effort going in to not shouting as loud as she could, as excited as she was, she didn't want to worry the others.

Before she could manage to open the door flap, it was opening from the inside, the man who was constantly at Maggie's side looking alarmed for only a moment before worry creased his brow. "Beth, are you okay?"

At the sound of her name, her sister appeared behind him, eyes wide with concern as she pushed her way out of the tent to stand in front of Beth. "What's wrong?"

Now that she was in front of her, she couldn't think of the proper words to say, stunned into silence by her sister standing within arms reach. She was the most amazing thing Beth had ever seen. She glanced over her shoulder to see the archer biting his thumb as he watched them, stopping only to mouth a small encouragement. _Go on then._

Without a further thought, she took a step forward to close the distance between them, flinging her arms around her in a hug. "I'm sorry for waking you up, Maggie." For a moment, she was worried about her reaction, but as her sister's hand came up to caress her hair in a soothing manner accompanied by the sound of delighted laughter, she realised everything would be okay. She really was home.


	7. Chapter 7

"You okay?" Carol's voice was soft and cautious. If there was anyone who knew that he was liable to go off at any moment, it was her. She'd been such a good friend to him since they'd met and he felt awful every time she'd been on the receiving end of his rage, but that didn't mean it didn't happen.

Daryl's answering grunt was neither a yes or no, but he knew she'd be able to decipher it regardless. "I know you were hoping she'd remember you by now."

She followed his gaze to the Greene sisters, hanging laundry they'd brought back from cleaning at the small creek nearby on a line they'd hung between two trees. The way they were smiling and laughing, you'd never be able to tell anything was wrong. "She's known Maggie since birth," Her words were gentle and she gave him a rueful smile, a soft hand resting on his shoulder. "it only stands to reason that she'd remember her before the rest of us, but you're important to her."

For a brief moment, his head turned slightly in Carol's direction. Had they spoken while they were both trapped in the hospital? Did she get a chance to tell Beth that he'd done everything he could to find her, that he was doing everything he could to get her back? He knew from Noah, a one sided conversation they'd had, that he'd escaped when they'd made a run for it together, Beth trying to find her way back to him. "A bond like that doesn't disappear, she'll find her way back to you when she can."

As if she could feel his eyes on her or somehow just knew she was being spoken of, Beth glanced over her shoulder, rewarding him with a bright smile and a small wave before turning back to her sister.

* * *

><p>Maggie's eyebrows were raised accusatorially when she tuned back in to the conversation. Feeling suddenly defensive, she snapped her eyes back to the close line to hang a shirt she'd nearly shredded while cleaning in an attempt to get the blood out. "What?"<p>

"Nothing," Maggie began, her voice entirely too close to sing-song for Beth's liking. "you just seem a bit preoccupied with, what do you call him?" she trailed off briefly, her finger tapping her chin in mock thought. "The archer."

Ignoring her sister's implication, she lowered her voice a bit as she picked up a shirt she recognised as his to wring out and pin up. "Has he got anyone?"

Maggie's snort of laughter and mumbled "Why, you interested?" had her rolling her eyes, swatting playfully at her as she moved to stand beside her, peaking around her own sweater at him.

"Not what I was asking for. He just seems... sad and lonely." From where they were, she couldn't hear the conversation taking place, but she could tell that he wasn't participating in it the way he should be. She could imagine the non-committal grunts he was answering the woman with. Though from what she could tell, the woman was kind and patient, the type who wouldn't push unless the situation absolutely demanded it. "Hasn't he got a friend to talk to?"

When she looked back to her sister, Maggie's bottom lip was pinned lightly between her teeth as she watched the kind woman talk to the sad man. "Not any more."

* * *

><p>At dinner, a few small fish that Maggie's husband and Tara had caught down at the creek, Beth sat beside her sister, her husband on the other side. "Here Beth, this'll be easier to eat with." As he passed her a pocket knife - something shorter and duller than the hunting knife she carried - she shocked the few people sitting around her and it took her a moment to realise why.<p>

"Thanks, Glenn." The name had fallen from her lips without a thought. She hadn't even looked up the sheet of aluminium they were using as a makeshift table, simply accepting the tool and cutting into her piece of fish. The sound of gasps barely registered, but her brother-in-law's laughter made her head snap up to look at him. "What?"

"What'd you just say?" He asked, a wide smile on his face. He looked young and carefree in that moment and she quickly decided she'd like for him to look that way all the time. "I said thanks." Her eyes went wide as he watched her, waiting for her to realise what had happened. "Glenn!"

The round of quiet cheers and happy laughter that followed was sweet and melodic, the pure joy it held had her feeling like she could fly and she couldn't help but let look around the fire until she found the archer, wanting so badly to have pleased him with her small victory.

He gave her a short nod before rising to walk off toward the tree he'd claimed as his sleeping quarters and without thinking, she quickly got up to follow him. She watched as he settled down to lean against a dip in the bark, wiggling slightly against the tree until he found a spot that was comfortable.

She approached silently, coming to a stop beside him and giving him enough time to protest to her being there before she dropped to her knees next to him. "Why don't you sleep in a tent like everyone else?"

His head was tipped back against the tree behind him, eyes shut, arms crossed loosely over his chest, legs crossed at the ankle. If she didn't know any better, she'd think he was asleep, but he broke the illusion by shrugging. "Not enough of 'em."

She settled down to get more comfortable, but froze at his words, one leg tucked beneath her, the other stretched in front of her, parallel to his. "But there was a spare one for me." He tilted his head down toward his chest to glance at her from the corner of his eye, but remained silent, and suddenly she understood where hers had come from. "Oh." Beth knew that he was more talkative with her than anyone else in the group, but understood that he preferred not to speak at all. Not wanting to bother him more, the two sat in silence, simply enjoying one another's presence.

The next thing she was aware of was the bright light of the sun against her eyelids and a warmth pressing against her side. Taking her time to let her eyes flutter open as she stretched the muscles in her legs, Beth tried to remember where she was and what that was digging into her back.

"Mornin'." And just like that, her eyes were snapping open, frenziedly taking in her surroundings. She could feel the blush creeping along her skin as she gently pushed herself away from both the tree and the archer, her voice sounding small to her as she shyly smiled up at him. "Good morning."

"Was just about to wake you," he mumbled as he watched her rub lightly at the small of her back. He'd contemplated picking her up once she'd fallen asleep to take her to her tent, but having her beside him had been comforting and despite the fact that it couldn't possibly be comfortable for her, he just couldn't do it. "take you back to your sister and go huntin'."

That made her perk up, her fingers abandoning the knot in her back to fall limp at her side as she sat up straight. "Maggie'll be fine without me." she said, standing up just after he did. She felt around her belt, one hand going to the pistol she had tucked into the back, the other lightly touching the knife on her hip. "I'm ready."

He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked past the curtain of hair that'd fallen into his eyes. "Wasn't really plannin' on company."

Smiling brightly, she rocked back on the heels of her boots before leaning toward him excitedly. "You're not saying no though, are you?" She cocked her head, her grin only growing wider as she watched him, waiting for an answer.

His face remained stoic as ever, but the smile in his voice betrayed him as he admitted defeat. "Go tell her you're comin' so she don't worry."


	8. Chapter 8

Taking care to make sure she stepped softly, avoiding twigs that'd snap underfoot or particularly dried out leaves that'd crunch beneath her, Beth walked alongside her friend, her knife held loosely in her hand as it dangled at her side. She didn't want to be caught without it if anything popped out at her, having had to deal with surprise walkers a few times before.

They'd been tracking a deer for most of the morning, the cloven prints on the forest floor telling them that it'd been two days or so since it'd come through. He'd reasoned that the amount of meat it'd provide made the distance worth it and she'd readily agreed, the idea of having a full stomach sounding appealing.

While he kept his eyes trained on the hoof prints they were following, Beth was soaking up their surroundings, looking out for the shambling tracks that'd tell her a walker had been through recently and may still be nearby. "Hang on." She called out, quiet enough to keep from spooking animals, but loud enough that he'd hear her. The indentations in the dirt were new and her hopes that it'd still be close by skyrocketed.

She watched him approach her slowly, head tilted slightly in a question that he didn't need to ask aloud before he was receiving an answer. "These rabbit tracks are fresh, it can't be too far from here." she whispered as she gestured at the small path it'd left behind.

She knew the only reason he hadn't noticed them was that he was singularly focused on finding the deer she'd been so enthusiastic about, and the trail was a bit farther out. Had she not been looking around everywhere she wasn't supposed to, she'd have missed it as well.

"You can track?" For a question that seemed like something someone would ask when surprised, he certainly didn't sound it. Drawing small patterns into the dirt with the tow of her boot to avoid his heavy gaze, she shrugged before explaining. "A few days after leaving the hospital, I realised I could do it. Tracked a squirrel for a few hours, but I didn't wanna use my gun and, apparently, I'm no good at throwing knives."

When he laughed, she did her best to look affronted, but she found herself smiling anyway, happy to hear the sound from him. "I just assumed if I could track animals, maybe I could do that too." It'd been a disaster. She'd stuck the end of the knife deep into a tree, unfortunately it was two trees away from the one the squirrel had been climbing, and it'd taken her about ten minutes to pry it back out.

He took a bandana from his back pocket, tying it around a small tree to mark their original path before following the rabbit tracks, moving quietly and gracefully through the woods.

She found herself watching him more than where they were going, the slant to his shoulders as he held his crossbow aloft in front of him, a bolt in place already in case they came upon their prey or a walker erupted from the woods, the way his body was tilted ever so slightly to the side as he walked, carefully placing one foot in front of the other, using the toes of his boots to keep quiet.

She let her mind wander as her eyes did. She certainly didn't learn how to track animals while growing up on a farm. They had all the meat they needed right there in their backyard, what'd be the point? None of the rest of their group seemed to have the patience or the know-how, leaving him as the only option. She'd learned it from him, a small gift of his that'd lingered deep in her subconscious even when she couldn't remember her own last name.

She was so busy smiling to herself, that she nearly walked right into him when he came to an abrupt stop, holding his arm up at a ninety degree angle, his hand closed into a fist. Shaking her head as if to clear it, she slowly moved to stand beside him, looking to his face to find his line of sight and follow it to the rabbit just up ahead, nestled against a fallen tree.

His elbow lightly nudged against her arm, eyebrow raised as he wordlessly proffered the crossbow. Taking only a second to let her surprise show, she gingerly reached out to accept it, the weight in her hands strangely comforting as she brought it up to look through the crosshairs. He took a careful step back, his arms coming up around her, but not quite touching her, just forming a cage of support in case she decided she needed it.

She took a deep breath, holding it in for a moment before slowly releasing it as she squeezed the trigger. She didn't dare take another breath until the bolt stopped flying, having found it's target just above the rabbit's front leg.

She quickly set the bow down, a small squeak of delight erupting from her as she spun on the spot to look at her friend, pleased to see his eyes shining with pride before she broke eye contact to fling her arms around his neck in celebration. He tensed for just a moment before she felt him relax significantly, lazily wrapping his arms around her waist to complete the hug.

* * *

><p>The two walked back to camp in companionable silence, a length of fishing line hanging around his neck, their game dangling from it. Between the two of them, they'd managed to procure two rabbits and three squirrels, Beth having shot one of each herself. She was extremely pleased by the quiet sort of praise she'd received, a new bounce to her step as she playfully knocked her shoulder into his. "Thanks for teaching me to hunt."<p>

He looked down his shoulder at her, shaking his head slightly. "You already knew it, didn't teach you a thing."

"That's true." He had a point, she supposed. Since they'd been out, she'd spotted tracks all on her own, capable of identifying what animal had left them, capable of following them properly, capable of telling how recently they'd been made. Holding the crossbow once it'd been lain in her hands felt like second nature and she'd instinctually known exactly how to handle it, right down to the fact that the sight was off just a smidge to the left. Despite how confident she was in her own ability, she knew it wasn't all her, especially when it came to the specifics of his particular crossbow. "But I learned it from you, didn't I? Before."

As he slowed his steps, she quickly adjusted to match his pace, staying close to his side. "Yeah, you did." A short jerk of the head accompanied his admission but his gaze didn't stray from the horizon, the sun setting in the distance, just beyond where the camp was slowly becoming visible. "You're getting good," he complimented, the tips of his ears going red as he continued, just above a whisper. "Pretty soon you won't need me at all."

She whipped her head around to look at him so fast she nearly tripped, her head full of visions of him leaning over to let her leap onto him for a piggyback ride. The idea seemed so silly that she burst into an uncontrollable fit of giggles and had to press her palm to her mouth to quiet herself.

When he finally looked at her, head titled in confusion, she shook her head, gasping breaths between laughs. "Sorry." she mumbled, in lieu of an explanation. Calming herself down, she reached her hand into the space between them, an easy smile on her face as she wiggled her fingers at him. "Will you teach me to clean the game?"

He raised his eyebrows at her before giving an exaggerated sigh, earning another small laugh from her, and slipping his hand into hers. "Yeah," he nodded, a small smirk on his face. "I'll teach you."

"See?" She reasoned, squeezing his hand as they emerged from the forest. "I still need you."


	9. Chapter 9

**Happy New Year, guys!**

"Want some help?"

Beth looked up from her awkward position, legs bent strangely, spread too wide to be comfortable, arms desperately clinging to small metal poles, the width too wide for her to get a good grip, the side of her face pressed against rough canvas. "This seemed easier in my head than it's turning out to be."

"What are you even doin'?" She couldn't help but notice that her archer friend seemed entirely too entertained watching her.

"I'm moving my tent." The part she neglected to mention was that she'd left all her things inside it while attempting to drag it closer to the tree line. It should've been easier to just tug it along than to remove everything, disassemble it, set it back up a minute later, and put her stuff back in it. Then again, since she'd made the decision to move it, she'd added the extra weight of his spare clothes and a gun that belonged to them all as a group, though he seemed to favour it most.

"Yeah, you are." He laughed, watching her struggle for only a moment longer before taking pity on her. She barely had time to register the single arm that he wrapped around her middle before she was being scooped up and deposited behind him. He grabbed a corner at the bottom of the tent and looked back to her for direction.

Running a hand through her hair to remove the small wispy pieces from her face, she huffed out a breath, pointing toward the tree he slept against most nights. He raised an eyebrow, the unasked question clear in his face, but moved the tent regardless.

"I put your things in there." she said, staring at the tent when he finished moving it, avoiding not only his stare, but the one should could feel on her back from her sister, all tingly, pins and needles.

He busied himself with undoing the zipper just enough to see inside. Things had shifted during Beth's vicious tug of war, but her basic set up was still visible. She'd found a spare blanket, folding it over itself, and laid it beside her sleeping bag. Her spare shirt and knapsack were bunched together to form a pillow for her while a torn up flannel of his and her freshly laundered, but still badly stained, sweater served as a makeshift pillow for him.

"You don't have to use it," she explained, not able to tell if his silence was good or bad without looking at his face. "I just thought I'd give you the option." She glanced over her shoulder to find Maggie was still watching her, Glenn at her side. "I can move my things out," she added, turning back to face him. "go stay with Maggie."

He was shaking his head while she attempted to backtrack and she suddenly wondered why she'd thought this was a good idea at all, but he surprised her with a small smile. "Your stuff's fine where it is."

* * *

><p>He felt like a soldier, having been left to guard something priceless and important, and he reasoned that it was because that's exactly what he was doing. The door flap to the tent was half open behind him, allowing him to keep an eye on Beth as she slept without being inside of it in case anything or anyone came out of the woods in the night.<p>

Soundlessly, someone approached him. He didn't have to look up to know it was Michonne, she was the only other person capable of moving so quietly. She came to a stop in front of him, kneeling just low enough to look him in the eye. "Your shift's up."

Startled, he stood up, her body following his. They hadn't worked in shifts since they'd left the church. He'd taken to having small naps during the day, sitting around the fire, perched in a tree while he waited for deer to pass, in the passenger seat of a car while on runs, always ready to be up all night, refusing to let any of the others be taken due to his lack of vigilance. He wouldn't let it happen again.

She must've been able to see his mind waging war on itself, because she found the exact right thing to say to spark his interest. "She's gonna need you." Without an elaboration, she turned on her heel, walking back to the centre of camp. He watched as she settled down against the back of the tent she shared with Rick and Carl, her katana resting in her lap as she trained her eyes on the woods.

With one final visual pass of the forest, he admitted defeat, grabbing his bow from where it'd fallen to the ground out of his lap and stepping into the tent. He carefully laid the weapon down in the front corner at his feet and sat down on his makeshift sleeping bag.

In her sleep, Beth looked calm and peaceful, though he couldn't stop his gaze from snapping back to the scars on her face every time it wandered elsewhere. The stitches that had held the two long cuts together when he'd seen her in the hospital had been removed, leaving only the shiny new skin and a few small indents where they'd been sown up. She was no less beautiful than she'd ever been for having them, but the simple idea that a living, breathing person had put them there made him furious.

Leaning over carefully so as not to wake her up, he found the newest of the marks, the one he hadn't been there to see turn into a scar, only having watched the wound be made. It was nearly circular, the edges jagged from where the flesh had been torn away by the bullet, but it was a small thing, easily covered when she pushed her hair into her face to hide it from prying eyes.

He'd seen the exit wound, having found it easier to watch her from behind when she wouldn't catch him. A doctor or someone must've shaved the hair away from the immediate area to look at it properly and, as a result, the hair that was growing back was only an inch long or so. He'd noticed that she parted her hair further along the other side now, keeping the patch covered by pulling her longer hair on top of it.

As he continued to search her exposed skin for any other marks that may have been left behind from their time apart, she let out a few small moans, her face scrunching up a bit in discontent. Suddenly, Michonne's words made sense. Before she'd moved it, their tents had resided next to one another, she must've been able to hear Beth making noise in her sleep.

As he watched, she fell silent again, her face relaxing, the tension easing from her body. He only had a moment to wonder what she was dreaming about before she began to twitch slightly, her hands clenching into loose fists. "Daddy!"

He knew she often saw memories while dreaming, things like Maggie and Shawn as children frolicking around the farm house, cradling a newborn Judith and singing to soothe her, something she'd mentioned about his motorcycle, harmless pieces of her puzzle. What he was certain she was dreaming of now, however, wasn't something he wanted haunting her in her sleep. On some level, Hershel's death had plagued them all, sure, but the pained look on her face hurt him.

"Hey," His whisper was soft but urgent as he reached out to carefully tuck her hair behind her ear, his fingertips ghosting along her cheek as he went. "Everything's fine, Greene. You're okay."

* * *

><p>"Where's Daryl?" Rick asked as he finished grabbing the necessities to go on the run they had planned today. Carl, Glenn, and Rosita were all ready, the only person left to wrangle was Daryl, and if Rick knew his brother the way he thought he did, they'd most likely be bringing Beth along.<p>

Michonne's sly smile and a jerked thumb over her shoulder had directed him to a tent situated closer to the woods than the rest. He unzipped the door halfway, surprised to find Daryl's face obscured by a curtain of long, wavy blonde hair. As he cleared his throat, Beth slowly lifted her head from Daryl's chest, a sleepy smile on her face. "Mornin' Sheriff. We ready to go?"


End file.
